Presentation by:Andrew MurphyChicago-Kent College of Law

The concept that things are made up of small particles dates back to ancient Greek philosophersIn fact, the term atom comes from the Greek word atomos which means indivisible.However as we’ll see that term is somewhat of a misnomer.

Nucleus• Subatomic particles

Neutron – no chargeProton – positive charge

Electron cloud• Electrons – negative charge

In 1904 Ernest Rutherford recognized the potential energy that could be generated from splitting atoms.On this point he wrote “If it were ever possible to control at will the rate of disintegration of the radio elements, an enormous amount of energy could be obtained from a small amount of matter.”

Ernest Rutherford and a team split the first atom in England by bombarding nitrogen atoms with alpha particles.

James Chadwick discovers the neutron.The discovery of the neutron was instrumental to work in fission because the neutron has no charge unlike the alpha particle which has a positive charge.As the alpha charge approaches the nucleus of a larger atom it is repelled like the two positive ends of a magnet (Coulomb barrier).Because a neutron has no charge it can enter the nucleus of larger atoms without being repelled and fission the atom.

In 1934 using still relatively newly discovered neutrons, an Italian physicist named Enrico Fermi began experiments bombarding uranium atoms with these neutrons which resulted in elements lighter than the initial uranium atoms.At the time Fermi did not know exactly what he had achieved through his experiments

In 1938 German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Straussman bombarded uranium atoms with neutrons which produced lighter elements (barium) much like Fermi’s previous experiments.Hahn and Strausman contacted Austrian physicists Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch who proved that matter has been converted to energy proving Einstein’s theory.

Nuclear power is a man-made generation of energy by which a nuclear reaction is induced in order to convert the mass of the nucleus into energy in the form of heat which is used to power a turbine.

Great question so glad you asked.

A nuclear reaction is defined as a process in which two nuclei or nuclear particles collide to produce products different from the initial particles.In nuclear power the nuclear reaction most often used is called induced nuclear fission.

All nuclei are held together by something called a strong nuclear force or strong interaction• When bound a nucleus forms a closed system which has a

definite, measurable mass.When a neutron collides with the nucleus the system is opened and some of the mass is lost in the form of binding energy• The process by which a nucleus is split releasing energy

is called fission• The sum of the remaining parts of the fission process will

add up to a mass less than that of the original nucleus. The reason for this is that some of the mass has been converted to energy according to the formula e=mc2

A nuclear fission reaction is an exothermic reaction meaning that the mass that released (i.e. binding energy) is in the form of heat.

Generally neutrons are moving too fast to be absorbed by a nucleus.To overcome this problem moderatorsare introduced to the system to slow the neutrons down to the point where they will be absorbed by the nuclei causing instability and ultimately fission.• One of the most common moderators used in

nuclear energy production is water another is solid graphite

A fissionable material is one capable of undergoing fission.A fissile material is one capable of undergoing a self-sustained chain reactionAll fissile materials are fissionable but not all fissionable materials are fissile235U, 239Pu,232Th = fissile238U, 240Pu = fissionable

A fertile material is a material that as is will not sustain a chain reaction but through neutron absorption and subsequent nuclei conversions the material will become fissile.

Classification by reaction type• Nuclear fission

Thermal reactorsFast neutron reactors

More fissile materialNo moderatorLess transuranic waste

• Nuclear fusion• Radioactive decay

Classification by moderator type• Graphite• Water• Light element• Organically moderated reactors

Classification by coolant type• Water• Liquid metal (fast reactors)• Gas• Molten salt

Classification by generation• Gen I reactors• Gen II reactors – most current reactors fall here• Gen III reactors – improvements on existing technology• Gen IV reactors – experimental technologies (including Pebble Bed reactors)

Classification by phase fuel• Solid• Fluid• Gas

Classification by use• Electricity• Propulsion• Heat• Transmutation of elements

A pebble bed reactor isa high temperaturegas-cooled nuclear reactor(HTGR) that combines the fuel and

moderator into small “pebble-sized”spheres which when piled in a critical geometry will allow for criticality.

Pebble what?

In 1944, Farrington Daniels had been working on a process of fixing nitrogen from air using a novel pebble bed heated furnace.Daniels proposed that a chain-reacting pile be constructed along similar lines. The pile would consist of uranium oxide and carbide pebbles whose heat of fission would be removed by a flow of a cooling gas. Daniels filed a patent on his idea in1945. In the patent, he calls the pile a "pebble bed reactor," claiming that the cooling gases be used to generate steam (to power a steam turbine), or "….the heated gases can be used directly in gas turbines." The next year, design work started on the Daniel’s power pile, a helium-cooled reactor based on Farrington Daniels' concept.The Atomic Energy Commission was also formed that year, and one of its first acts was to cancel the project.

Pebble Bed Reactor technology was first developed in the 1960s in Germany.• Arbeitsgemeinschaft Versuchsreaktor (AVR)

finished construction and went critical in 1962 in Jülich, West Germany.

• THTR-300 began operation in 1983.

Two reactors named MERLIN and DIDO achieved criticality in 1962 after 4 years of construction.In 1967 the reactor was synchronized to the grid and began supplying electricity for consumer use.In 1985 the MERLIN reactor was decommissioned The entire AVR facility was decommissioned in 1988During its operation the reactor was used to test several different technologies and safety measures.Perhaps best known in its lifetime for its 1970 demonstration of the passive safety measures built into the pebble bed design.

All coolant was shut off and control rods were prevented from entering the reactor to slow down nuclear reactions.As the temperature rose to a peak of 1720o C, the chain reaction slowed due to the Doppler broadening until the temperature fell and stabilizedThe pebbles maintained integrity and the reactor itself suffered no adverse effects.

THTR-300 was under construction from 1970-1983 when it first went criticalIt began producing electricity in 1985It had two unique features that separated it from AVR

• It used pre-stressed concrete in the pressure vessel that held the pebbles (previously all pressure vessels were made of steel)

• The 670,000 fuel pebbles contained Thorium which is a fertile fuel not a fissile fuel in addition to Uranium.

Thorium is 3x more plentiful than Uranium in the earth’s crustA lot of research and potential use of Thorium in India and Russia

In 1985 a pebble became lodged in one of the feeding tubesIn 1989 amidst heightened scrutiny and fears caused by Chernobyl, THTR-300 was decommissioned.

About 360,000 pebbles are placed in the core cavity.Burned pebbles are extracted from the bottom where they are examined for burn-up and reinserted in the top of the pileEach pebble can go through about 15 cycles before being completely used up

Most PBRs use helium gas as a coolant• Because helium is an inert gas it does not absorb neutrons as water

does and thus it does not become radioactive when it is circulated throughout the reactor where it takes the heat away created by the fission.

• Helium has 3x the sonic velocity of air and 5x the thermal capacity of air meaning that it can turn turbines faster and allow more work to be done per mass unit than air.

• Additionally the multi-layer design of the pebble means that the helium never comes in direct contact with the radioactive material.

The helium is then either uses directly to power a turbine or it is taken to a steam generator where it is forced into pipes where it heats water to the point of steam which then powers a turbineFinally the remaining heat can be used as process heat.

Most reactor systems are enclosed in a containment building designed to resist aircraft crashes and earthquakes.The reactor itself is usually in a two-meter-thick-walled room with doors that can be closed, and cooling plenums that can be filled from any water source.The reactor vessel is usually sealed.Each pebble, within the vessel, is a 60 mm (2.6") hollow sphere of pyrolytic graphite.

• A wrapping of fireproof silicon carbide;• Low density porous pyrolytic carbon; and • High density nonporous pyrolytic carbon

Pyrolitic graphite is generally thought to be incapable of burning when exposed to air (in the event of a breach) absent some hydroxyl radical (usually from water).The fission fuel is in the form of metal oxides or carbides

Operated at 250°C above annealing temperature of graphite to prevent accumulation of Wigner energyContinuous refueling prevents excessive reactivity and also allows for the individual pebbles to be examined for defectsGraphite does not experience phase transitions

There is a learning curve in PBR technology that will have to beovercome before PBR technology becomes mainstreamCan the US wait until the learning curve is overcome or will current needs make the wait impossible?A new design means that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have to be educated on the new technology and new standards will have to be developed and implemented before large scale production can commence.The pebbles are larger in volume than current nuclear fuel technology which means a higher volume of waste materialIt is impractical to reprocess the fuel in spent pebbles (which means over 80% of the fuel will be wasted).There are other technologies that are currently being advanced that compete with PBR technology that show greater potential.

Both the genius of the concept and a curse

HTR-10 (High Temperature Reactor capable of 10 Megawatts heat output) was built by Tsinghua University in China.

• Construction began in 2000 and it went critical in 2003

• It is virtually a replica of the AVR plantIn 2005, China announced plans to construct another two 250Mwt pebble bed modular reactors (HTR-PM) in Rongchen City in the Shandong province capable of generating 200 Mwe.

• Construction is set to be finished in 2010.• The HTR-PM reactor will employ a steam

generator but with the capability of switching to a gas turbine as the technology matures.

A South African utility company, Eskom, began investigating pebble bed technology in 1993.In 2000, Eskom began looking for investors and eventually gainedthe support of Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), and the US utility Exelon.

• Since then Exelon has dropped out and the BNFL role has been taken over by Westinghouse, which BNFL sold to Toshiba.

Eskom moved forward with its modular design partnering with Tsignhua University to help with design and sent its proposed fuel pebbles to Russia for testing.However, in September of this year the South African government who partially owns Eskom reported record losses and cited tough economic times as the reason for indefinitely suspending plans to finish the PBMR demonstration plant.

• Eskom hinted at the possibility of building a smaller plant for purposes other than electricity generation such as coal gasification and liquefaction; oil extraction from tar sands; or desalination of seawater.

MIT has been studying pebble bed reactor technology since 1998. It has developed models for a modular reactor design.In 2003, the DOE began funding research for advanced gas reactors. The Idaho National Laboratory was chosen to do this research because it is the DOE’s lead nuclear technology R&D site.The INL has been testing the pebble fuel by subjecting it to high levels or radiation simulating years of exposure in a few months.

• Currently after 9% burn up of the fuel there seems to be no damage to the fuel cells

• The next milestone that the INL hoped to achieve was 12-14% in 2008• Earlier this year the INL surpassed its goal of 12-14% and achieved

19% burn up. The higher the burn up the less fuel is required toproduce each unit of energy.

Extracting gas from oil sandsIndustrial heatingCoal to gas operations